Antidepressant drugs appear to enhance cocaine-induced toxicity.

Antidepressant drugs appear to enhance cocaine-induced toxicity.

It has been shown that cocaine-induced convulsions and lethality appear to be mediated by serotonin and dopamine neurotransmission, respectively. However, many antidepressants considered for treatment of cocaine addiction target these monoamine systems and may thus amplify these toxic effects during relapse. In this study, the authors assessed whether pretreatment with antidepressants influence...

Fatal toxicity of antidepressant drugs in overdose.

A fatal toxicity index (deaths per million National Health Service prescriptions) was calculated for antidepressant drugs on sale during the years 1975-84 in England, Wales, and Scotland. The tricyclic drugs introduced before 1970 had a higher index than the mean for all the drugs studied (p less than 0.001). In this group the toxicity of amitriptyline, dibenzepin, desipramine, and dothiepin wa...

Toxicity of depressant and antidepressant drugs in hyperthyroid mice.

Antidepressant Drugs

Depression is a common mental disorder characterized by sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-esteem, sleep or appetite disturbances, fatigue and lack of concentration. The disorder can be either chronic or recurrent, substantially reducing the individual’s capacity to work or study, or perform the activities of daily living [1]. Depression is more common in women...

Cocaine esterase prevents cocaine-induced toxicity and the ongoing intravenous self-administration of cocaine in rats.

Cocaine esterase (CocE) is a naturally occurring bacterial enzyme, is a very efficient protein catalyst for the hydrolysis of cocaine, and has previously been shown to protect rodents from the lethal effects of cocaine. The current studies were aimed at evaluating the capacity of a longer acting mutant form (CocE T172R/G173Q; DM CocE) of CocE to protect against the lethal effects of cocaine, an...